One of the things that adds constant variety to the game of blackjack is the endless supply of side bets. Though I advise against playing any side bet, it is good to know what they are. Lucky Ladies is a popular side bet that can be found in many casinos, both on land and online.
With the Lucky Ladies side bet, you win if you draw a 20-point hand. That means any hand where the total adds up to 20 will win you something. How much you win depends on what specific cards you have.
There are a number of possible pay tables that you might see for Lucky Ladies blackjack. If you insist on playing this side bet, be sure you know what the pay table is. Here I will cover the most common pay table. In that pay table, any unsuited 20 pays out 4:1. A suited 20, meaning all cards in the hand are the same suit and add up to a total of 20, pays out 9:1. A matched 20, which is cards of the same rank and suit, pays out 19:1. If you have a pair of a Queen of hearts, the casino pays out 125:1. The biggest money is if you have a pair of Queen of hearts and the dealer has a blackjack. In that case, you win a payout of 1,000:1.
Those payouts sound pretty good, but remember that when it comes to 꽁머니 casino games, the general rule is the higher the payout, the less likely the outcome is to happen. That rule applies here as well. With the pay table I described, the house edge ranges from 24.05% for an eight-deck game to 38.16% for a single-deck game.
When you compare that to the house edge for the regular game of blackjack, which can be reduced to 0.5% by using blackjack basic strategy, it is clear that this side bet is not a good deal. If you do play and get that 1,000 to 1 payout, though, you’ll be pretty happy. That is the appeal of side bets. You will most likely come out a loser, but there is that slim chance you could get a big payout.
Blackjack Side Bets: Royal Match
Royal Match is a blackjack side bet that is commonly offered in casinos. It’s a rather simple side bet, but one I advise avoiding. Like all side bets, it carries a higher house advantage than the regular game.
Royal match is a side bet that concerns the first two cards of a player’s hand. They place their bets before drawing their first card and then win or lose money based on the first two cards they receive. This bet is independent of the hand because it takes place before the hand is paid out.
The player wins money if the first two cards match in suit. A regular match, such as a king of spades and a six of spades, pays out 5:2. A “royal match” is drawing two royal cards (king or queen) that have the same suit. If you draw a royal match, the casino pays out 25:1. Both of those may sounds good because of the good payouts, but the odds are still against you.
The odds for this blackjack side bet vary depending on the number of decks in play. Your odds increase with each deck, because that gives you more potential matches. If the game is played with 6 decks, as is the norm, the casino has a 6.46% house edge with the royal match side bet. With a single-deck game, this side bet has a house edge of 10.86%. Keeping in mind that blackjack basic strategy reduces the house edge of the regular game to 0.5%, those are very bad odds.
If you decide to play one of these side bets, it should be with the same state of mind as playing a progressive slot machine. In all likelihood, you will lose your money on the bet. On the slim chance that you win, though, there will be good money.
